1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of recording an image on a recording medium and a recording apparatus suitable for carrying out the same.
2. Related Background Art
The recent trend of the copying machine market is towards compact and light-weight products designed for personal use.
In this situation, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 126632/1985 discloses a copying machine including: a charge transfer device serving as an image sensor responsive to light reflected from an copy original to be copied for generating a corresponding image signal; and a thermal head having an array of heating elements responsive to this image signal for generating heat, whereby recording is effected by causing heat-sensitive paper to generate heat.
The above-mentioned related-art example, however, requires the thermal head including an array of heating elements and an array of charge transfer elements serving as an image sensor as well as an optical lens. This may lead to the problems that the production cost is increased and that a complicated mechanism is needed. In addition, since digital recording is effected on heat-sensitive paper via the thermal head including arrayed heating elements, any attempt at improving the fidelity of recorded images cannot avoid the use of higher precision parts. This may result in the problem that the production cost is further increased.